I have some family members in Ohio, near Columbus. I'm off in the morning to spend New Year's with them. Several people I've never met - one new fiancee, two grandchildren, and at least a couple of boy/girl friends new on the scene since I was last in the company of my nieces and nephews. I printed my boarding pass a few minutes ago, and was both startled and delighted to see a "TSA precheck" logo on the upper right corner. A little googling, and if I'm correct on what that means, I don't have to (1) take my shoes off; (2) take small bottles out of my bag; (3) take my computer out of my bag.

I have no idea what I did to deserve this status. I travel by plane about once or perhaps twice a year. I have frequent flyer accounts with a couple of airlines, both with hubs at the Denver airport. Both airlines have my passport #. So there are ways that the airline could determine that I am a cooperative passenger. I'm confident that a background check by any agency would reveal that I am a law abiding citizen. Somewhere along the line, TSA has developed a profile on me. And given me an extra perk or two as a result.

When I think about skipping one of the major hassles of boarding a plane, I'm very pleased. But when I think about the fact that the TSA developed a satisfactory profile on me without me knowing about it, I'm a little less pleased.

I'm certainly not going to complain to anyone. I will line up in the appropriate line in the morning, and comply with all instructions. I hope the TSA people I encounter will regard me with calm, when they see the little logo on my boarding pass.

I've felt for several years that the airlines and the TSA keep checking over and over again the same group of law abiding travelers, who must number in the tens of thousands by now. I have also thought that if I had an opportunity to obtain some sort of enduring pre-flight endorsement of my law abiding status that I would be pleased to apply. What takes me back a bit is having something similar to what I envisioned occur without my input.

To be honest, I'm not sure how I feel about this.